


Of Ascians and Auracite

by stepOnMeZenos



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Ascian Possession (Final Fantasy XIV), Don't copy to another site, Epistolary, Gen, Patch 2.0: A Realm Reborn Spoilers, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-22
Updated: 2019-03-22
Packaged: 2019-11-18 02:47:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18111692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stepOnMeZenos/pseuds/stepOnMeZenos
Summary: Urianger, in his desire to help out Thancred in the aftermath of the Praetorium, contacts an old friend.





	Of Ascians and Auracite

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheSecondBatgirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSecondBatgirl/gifts).



Moenbryda,

I write to thee to discuss a certain matter that hath befallen one of my fellow Scions. I know not whether news of Eorzea travel all the way to Sharlayan, and how quickly, if they do. Shouldst thou have any questions regarding what I am about to tell thee, do not hesitate to ask. 

If aught hath reached thine ears, it will be that the Black Wolf hath perished and Eorzea is safe from Garlean machinations once more—for now. 'Tis the truth, in large parts because of my fellow Scions' effort. What thou hast likely not heard yet, however, is that van Baelsar was in league with the Paragons—allied, though not for a common purpose, as it turneth out. 'Tis that which hath prompted me to write this letter. I would share my findings with thee, so that we may find out more… together. 

I know not how van Baelsar hath met this Paragon, though it appears likely that it was not him who approached his—for lack of better word—partner. Nay, I suspect it was the Ascian who gave van Baelsar the knowledge and tools he employed during his ill-advised conquest. While the Garlean Empire hath shown impressive skill in making use of Allagan technology, I have my doubts they would have thought to use the Ultima Weapon in the manner they did, and the Warrior of Light's recount of their experiences seem to confirm that. 'Twas the Paragon who sought to manipulate the Garleans to his own ends, the Garleans and, I regret to say, us Scions. To what end, I do not know. Thou knowest as well as anyone that the Ascians' motives ever remain puzzling to us. 

'Tis not primarily the Ascian's involvement with the Empire that concerneth me, however. Such behaviour is to be expected by now. Of a more worrisome nature is that one of our own, Thancred Waters, hath fallen prey to a heretofore unknown and worrying ability this Ascian displayed. It appeareth that the Paragons are capable of invading a living being, possessing it—controlling it. Thus robbed of his own will, Thancred informed the Garleans of our whereabouts, leading to our capture—and subsequent rescue, thou needst not concern thyself with avenging me or some such nonsense—as well as passing on other information that we must assume have reached the hands of other Imperials by now. We can no longer rely on them being unaware of who and what and _where_ we are. 

I ask that thou helpest me with understanding the workings of this ability. We must needs be prepared for the Paragons using it against us in the future if we are to continue our work as Scions. Attached thou will find a transcript of Thancred's testimony, as well as a copy of the aetheric readings he hath undergone. Prithee tell me thy thoughts, so that we may find the truth together.

Regards,

Urianger

 

[Transcript of Thancred's testimony, gathered in the aftermath of thwarting van Baelsar]

“It was… it was as if I were one of those remote-controlled magitek machines Wedge has been fiddling with. I was _there_. I could see everything, hear everything—feel everything, it was as if I did all those things even as I tried so hard _not_ to… When I told the Garleans about Vesper Bay and the Waking Sands, it was _me_. I felt my mouth move and heard the words come out, and no matter how much I tried to stop it, I couldn't. I just couldn't… 

[Thancred riseth from his chair and beginneth pacing through the room.] 

“There was never a point where I was aware that there was someone… or some _thing_ else inside my head. He—Lahabrea—he never spoke to me, and I couldn't hear his thoughts. If it weren't for the fact that I said things I never knew about, that I couldn't have known about, and that the Garleans called me Lahabrea, I don't know what I would have thought was happening. Hm? What was the process of… being possessed like?

[A long pause.]

“I was surveying Thanalan while the Warrior of Light and Y'shtola dealt with Titan—reconnoitering Amalj'aa activity, checking the ambient aether levels, you know, the usual. It's… it's hard to recall when and where exactly it happened. It was hard to even notice something was off at first, before I… he… did anything I wouldn't have done. I remember finding it a bit strange that I was walking towards Vesper Bay, since I hadn't finished my survey yet, but I don't know how long I'd been under his control at this point. Did I lose my memory or did I not notice? I can't very well tell you either way, now can I? Anyroad, I walked past the Waking Sands, in a way that I recognised as not wanting to be seen—I took the back alleys, I don't normally do that in Vesper Bay—I walked past the Waking Sands and towards Castrum Marinum, and that's when I began catching on. Why am I going there, I thought, and then found that I couldn't stop walking. It was…“

[Thancred taketh several deep breaths.] 

I… Lahabrea conjured up those Ascian robes out of thin air, and then he approached a Garlean patrol in the area. Told them I was Lahabrea, and that I had important information for Gaius van Baelsar. They escorted me inside right away… must have had orders not to turn Lahabrea away. I wonder how they met… 

Once inside, they led me to this communication station—don't ask me what exactly it was or how it worked, that's Cid's job, not mine. They hooked me up to the Black Wolf, who was at the time residing in Castrum Centri, apparently. I passed on everything I knew… even things I had forgotten up until that point. About the Waking Sands, and the Scions, and our research on primals and what we knew of the Imperials' plans—and we have to assume they relayed all of it back to Garlemald, not to mention that the Ascians now know of it as well.

[Thancred sigheth.] 

I've apologised enough. I won't bore you by repeating it. What else did you want to know? What it felt like when Lahabrea used his magicks? I don't have the words to describe it. It didn't feel like any spell I know. He used aether, that much I know, but I can't tell you what he did with it and how. Where a normal spell manipulates aether according to patterns that quickly become familiar—you would know this better than I do—, his magick was alien. I doubt any mortal has ever thought to use aether in this manner.

No, he never met any other Ascians while he possessed me. Unless he somehow wiped my memory of that. Twelve know what sorts of insidious ways Ascians have of manipulating people… He never talked much to van Baelsar either, certainly nothing you wouldn't know already. If you insist on me boring you with it, though, I can recount all I remember. Later? All right. 

The Heart of Sabik? When I mentioned it to the Warrior of Light, it was the first and last time I'd ever heard of it. I don't know what it is, or what it does, or where it comes from. If it weren't a weapon of mass destruction threatening all of us, it would almost be a shame that nothing remained of it after what happened… Stop looking at me like that. I only meant to say that we could have learned more of what the Ascians are planning from it. I assure you, Lahabrea is… gone. I'm in full control of my body.

I didn't perceive my environment differentl—no, I did. I don't recall when it happened, but he must have taken off my aetherometer at some point, and yet I could still see the aether. Not as clearly as with it, but certainly far more than any normal person should be able to. I suspect that he sees it clearer still when not possessing a… body. Would that he had left that ability behind. It would have been useful, at the very least. 

What else he left behind? Mainly a fervent desire to take baths, to wash off the grime of having that _thing_ inside of me. I feel dirty, and decidely not in the fun way. On a more serious note: No, I haven't noticed anything. Nothing that could be attributed to him, that is. I highly doubt that lingering feeling of… of terror is his.

I need a break.

[End of transcript.]

 

 

Urianger, you damn fool, 

You're silent for months and months on end and the only reason you come to me is because you need my help? You never ever change, do you? It's always work, work, work with you.

Well, if you're not going to make an effort to be social, then I'll just have to force you. With your next letter I expect a full report on how you have been, how your fellow Scions have fared (including Thancred—I want more than just information on Ascians!), if you've made any friends or _more_ , and if you still insist on wearing a hood and goggles everywhere. How's the weather in Thanalan? Did you get a tan yet? And be sure to give Yda my greetings, and send me her response. No excuses!

As for me, I've been quite well. Wrapped up in my studies as always of course. You know how it is. My main area of focus has been white auracite of late, which has some fascinating properties that I'm certain will come in handy someday. I'll be sure to send you my results as soon as I have something worth showing. 

Now, about your request! I've taken a closer look at Thancred's aether from your readings. 'Tis a pity that you couldn't send a reading from before this all happened. Comparing the differences would be fascinating. You should really look into doing regular readings—it would help protect you against more possessions too, should the Paragons get any more ideas about that. 

As for the particular reading you provided me with: As you've surely been able to tell yourself, it could almost be ordinary at first glance. All the aether patterns that should be present in an adult Hyur are certainly there, and it would be easy to come to the conclusion that nothing's changed at all. But beneath the surface… you _have_ checked whether he's physically healthy, right? If I hadn't known about what happened, I would be concerned for him. Even more than I already am, I mean.

While the aether flows where it should within him, the quantities are—perhaps not _all_ wrong, but they're certainly not right either. Even accounting for individual variance, a healthy Hyur would not display something like that. For example, look at this subsection. It's almost opposite of what it should be, isn't it? 'Tis passing strange. I've never seen anything like it, nor would I be able to name anything else that could cause it, aside from being possessed by an Ascian.

I have a few theories on the effects these changes will have on him. The disturbance within his aether flows will likely make him more susceptible to aetheric influences around him, even when said influences wouldn't be enough to affect a healthy person. Tell him to be mindful of not going to places where the aether behaves erratically. 'Tis hard to predict what exactly would happen, but “nothing good“ seems like a decent assumption.

I suspect the root cause of this disturbance may be that the Ascian made use of aether for his magic, as well as the other abilities Thancred and you mentioned. Very few spells, other than improperly cast ones, have such an effect on the caster, but it's entirely possible that Ascian magick uses aether in alien ways, and Lahabrea would not have been overly concerned with sparing Thancred. By channeling aether in a way fundamentally not meant for a mortal body, it altered how his very body functioned, likely permanently.

I'll scour the libraries to see if I can find similar cases, or any insights into what these changes will mean for Thancred. In the meantime, I'll want regular readings to see if the current configuration is stable, and if not how exactly it develops.

What I don't have, unfortunately, is a way to undo anything that happened. There are ways to influence a living being's aether flow, but bar none they're far too risky to attempt, especially in a case like this where we're dealing with heretofore unknown changes already. I fear we must leave Thancred as he is in the foreseeable future. Pray let him know I'm sorry I'm unable to do more. Give everyone else my regards as well.

Love,

Moenbryda

 

 

Moenbryda,

I should thank thee if thou wouldst refrain from wasting time better spent on unravelling this mystery, yet I presume thou wouldst not let me hear the end of it if I did not acquiese to thy request. We have all been well, the stress of recent events notwithstanding. There have been no noteworthy illnesses, nor injuries, nor interpersonal conflict worth mentioning. Yda sends her regards. And yes, I still wear a hood and goggles, and I will not hear any remarks about “showing my beautiful face“ to the world. I assure thee, I am _quite_ content with my attire. 

I trust that will suffice.

Now, as to the important matters. Thine assessment is in line with what I have considered. I, too, suspected that Thancred hath been influenced by Lahabrea's foul magic in a manner much like what thou hast described, even if I cannot find any outward signs of it. I fear I have no recourse either at this point. I shall keep looking, however, and thou wilst surely as well. 

Thancred, for his part, hath been recovering at a steady pace. He hath been in better spirits in recent days, and hath returned to flirting with reckless abandon once more. That said, he hath also been _indulging_ in better spirits of late, to a worrying degree. One may often find him drunk in a corner, moreso than ever before. I know for a fact both Minfilia and Y'shtola have spoken to him, but have not observed any noticeable and lasting change of behaviour. I have known Thancred to enjoy drinking, this is true, but I have never witnessed it to such a degree. Mayhap that is a matter best left to those closer to him than I am, however. Thou knowest well that I do not excel at these things. Shouldst thou have recommendations for a course of action, I would be open to hearing them. 

I have taken the liberty of relaying what thou hast told me to him, and advised him to be careful when casting magicks. I do not think he hath taken it well. He hath ever been eager to prove his worth, and I suspect his ordeal hath only solidified that wish. I will see to it he doth not try to sneak out and do what he is not ready for.

I intend to folloy thy suggestion of conducting regular aether readings. Certain parties are wont to grumble at the 'inconvenience' of it, but I shall find ways to convince them. I do not know how the Warrior of Light contendeth with primals regularly, yet balks at medical examinations. 'Tis an odd combination, and perchance the real inconvenience… After all he hath done for us, however, he hath earned the right to be eccentric.

I ramble. My sincere apologies.

Regards, 

Urianger

 

 

You're not getting away with so little, Urianger!

“Yda sends her regards“? Come now, you and I both know she didn't just say _that_. (Especially because she's sent me a letter of her own, scolding me for not contacting her directly—something I deserve, I suppose!) Must you be so cagey? I asked not because I wanted you to answer these specific questions, but because it's been a long time, and our lives grew too far apart. Meet me halfways, Urianger, instead of leaving me hanging! 

(I'm joking. I like you as you are, even if you refuse to show your face to anyone.) 

So! Since I'm scolding you now, I will lead by example and talk about my own life. I've taken a young but promising scholar under my wings, as assistant in my auracite research. Her name is Iveanne Toreux—you're unlikely to have heard of her, she was half a child yet when you left Sharlayan. You may know her father as a key part of the group that made the teleport spell so much safer by rebalancing the aether manipulation? I have high hopes she will follow in his footsteps. 

(Also, she tells the best jokes. If she ever decides that the path of the scholar isn't for her, she would make a brilliant jester.)

Other than that, the Athenaeum has finally responded to my repeated petitions to improve the quality of food and hired new cooks. We shall see whether it will help. Oh! Speaking of food, it occurred to me that you never did give me your mother's acorn cookie recipe before you left. Do you still have it?

As for how to deal with Thancred: Are you proposing to steer clear because you genuinely feel like you can't do anything, or because you're being your usual socially awkward self and chickening out of stepping out of your comfort zone? I know you, Urianger. If nobody stops you, you'll merrily hide behind the bookshelf until the end of time. 

If you truly think it a matter best left to others, I won't badger you. But Thancred is your friend too, is he not? You need not come up with a solution—that's not something anyone but him can do—but if I were you, I would do my utmost to support him. I'm well aware that motivational speeches are not your forte, but he may find it reassuring to know that you, too, are there for him even beyond the practical matters of aether readings and the like.

I can't advise you on how to do that. You know Thancred far better than I do, and you'll be able to come up with better options than I will. Put your smart head to use, Urianger! And then tell me how it turned out. I'm curious.

Love,

Moenbryda

 

 

Moenbryda,

I must apologise; I have mistaken thine intent for mere politeness with no interest in answers and responded accordingly. I did not expect thee to take such an interest in my affairs. Pray forgive me, and allow me to answer thy questions belatedly. 

My fellow Scions have been kept busy by the Sahagins, who have summoned Leviathan once more. The threat the primal poseth to Vylbrand cannot be underestimated, and we have been forced to divert considerable resources towards stopping it. I am pleased to report that none of them came to harm, and that Thancred hath made acquaintances with a Doman refugee by the name of Yugiri. He seemeth rather enamored with her. I have not seen him court a woman this sincerely in a long time, though whether she reciprocates, I cannot say… It hath improved his disposition regardless, however. He is in better spirits these days. 

I have also implemented thy suggestion to show Thancred that, in thy words, I am there for him. I fear he did not take me very seriously when I said as much, but thanked me after he had stopped laughing anyroad. 

The weather here in Thanalan is ever unforgiving, due to the unique geographic position of… but thou wouldst know of that, and I need not explain it to thee. Thou art a student of Louisoix, after all. I do not venture out of the Waking Sands without my hood, lest my skin burneth under the merciless sun. I rather miss the more temperate climate of the homeland, I confess. 

Thy proposal to perform routine aether readings hath not been well received, I'm afraid, but all have seen the need and acquiesced to it, even the Warrior of Light. As it takes a rather long time to finish readings, I have set up a rotating schedule for all of us. Might I send thee the results, to ascertain I am not missing anything? I do not wish for the Paragons to take us off guard a second time.

I would hear more of thy research, if thou wishest to tell me. I know comparatively little about white auracite, and am ever eager to expand my horizon. One may never know when such insights will be of use. 

Shouldst thou wish to make other inquiries, I am open to hearing them. 

Oh, and attached thou wilst find the acorn cookie recipe thou hast asked for.

Regards,

Urianger

 

 

Urianger!

I knew you could do it. I'm so proud of you! I'm sure Thancred appreciates the support as well. Do let me know how his courting progresses. I'm dying to hear more, and about this Yugiri as well. And about Doma, if you so wish! I have access to travelogues, but a written report of a foreigner travelling through a land for a comparatively short while can never compare to first-hand accounts.

On a related note, I can't help but notice you avoided my inquiry about making friends or lovers. Are you hiding something from me? (I jest. Mostly. But if you do wish to tell me anything…)

The primals ever plague you and your fellow Scions, do they not? I wish I had a solution, as do all of you, I'm sure. How goes your primal research? Have you found aught of note? I will scour the Sharlayan libraries for you if need be, if you tell me what to look for. Neglecting my own research is hardly something I enjoy, but reducing or eliminating the primal threat is of utmost important—not that that is something I would know better than you do.

Are you certain 'tis not because you have an inexplicable aversion to people seeing your face that you keep the hood on? In case you are not using that as an excuse, I've written down my mother's patented sun protection recipe for you. It should be strong enough to contend even with the Thanalan summer sun. It may not be the solution a true student of Louisoix would come up with, but it works exceedingly well nonetheless.

You're asking whether you can send potentially interesting aether readings to me? You do remember that's my specialty, right? I would have requested to see them even if you had not offered. I'll find every single irregularity, this I can guarantee. No Ascian will impersonate one of you on my watch! (If, that is, we are correct in our theory that aether readings can show Paragon possession. Alas, that is something we can never know until it's too late…)

I could talk about white auracite all day. It has such deeply fascinating properties. Pardon me if I explain things you already know; you said you know little of it, and so I want to make sure we are on the same level. White auracite is capable of containing vast amounts of aether; few if any materials are capable of matching it in this capacity. Unfortunately, it can only hold it for a very short time. Minutes, not bells, and the more aether one infuses, the faster it leaks out again. A key area of my research is finding a way to bypass this limitation, which would allow white auracite to be used in all manners of fascinating projects, but we have not had any success yet. But mark my words, Urianger: I will find a way to make it happen, even if it's the last thing I'll do.

Finally: thank you for the recipe! I hoped you would not refuse me, as I learned from Yda that you've been baking them for Alphinaud and Alisaie, and occasionally others as well. I'm glad you did not think to deprive me of what you freely give others. I'll make sure to share them with Iveanne as well. 

Love, 

Moenbryda

 

 

Moenbryda,

Thancred's courting skills have ever been… questionable, to say the least, and I do not, personally, judge his chances to be very high. Nevertheless, I have been wrong about these matters before, and will duly notify thee of any important changes. It doth not look like he hath progressed very far at the time of my writing this letter, however.

As for Doma, I'm afraid I have not asked overmuch, as speaking of their lost homeland seemeth to pain the refugees that stayed in close contact with the Scions. 'Tis difficult to blame them for it. What little I have heard painted a dreadful picture of what they have gone through, and I would not wish to dredge up bad memories needlessly. 

That being said, Yugiri hath been more forthcoming about herself than the Domans about their lands. She is a warrior trained in the ways of the ninja, a group of people whose skills bear a striking resemblance to Eorzean rogues—in fact, I have spotted Thancred and her exchanging tips once. Slinging knives is not something I have a vested interest in, however, and so I did not inquire further.

No, I am not hiding anything from thee save, perchance, my face. On my word. I will, however, possibly take the offer to research primals further in the near future. There is a limit on how many and which tomes I can access here in the Waking Sands. I do not currently have any requests, but I will contact thee if this changes, as well as forward the readings. Grateful am I for thy cooperation in this matter—as I am for thy recipe. Mundane a solution it may be, but at times, the mundane solution proveth to be the most optimal one.

White auracite doth indeed appear to be a highly fascinating material. I can see a great many applications for it, should its drawbacks prove to be surmountable. Long-term aether storage modules of high capacity could be used to power a great many devices… though I recommend caution, lest we end as the Allagans did: victims of our own hubris. Then again, I hardly think thou art prone to succumbing to arrogance, Moenbryda. Thou art surely wiser than that. I will await future results with bated breath. Pray inform me of any developments. I would offer my help, as thou hast offered thine, but I fear I'm fully occupied with my duties as a Scion. My sincere apologies for my selfish requests that I cannot reciprocate.

I must go now. Alisaie calls to me. She hath been pursuing a venture of her own, though not unrelated to our Scion work—I will summarise it for thee in future letters.

Regards,

Urianger

 

 

Urianger,

It's good to hear Thancred is doing better. While I have never met him personally, I would not wish an experience such as what he lived through on anyone—save perhaps the Garleans, but Garleans possessed by Ascians is a potential headache none of us want to live through, I'm sure. I shudder to think of what they would do with such influence when they have had such success with simply _allying_ with the empire.

I've been very busy lately, which partly explains why this letter is so late. Iveanne and I are preparing to embark on a research trip to a remote corner in Sharlayan, which is rich in white auracite (and not much else, hence its remoteness). We're hoping to conduct experiments on how white auracite behaves when not extracted and refined, which all my samples thus far have been. There are no known differences between refined and unrefined white auracite, save the fact that it can store more aether in the former state, but you know as well as I do that “no known differences“ only means none have been discovered yet. 

After plenty of work to make sure we have our supplies in order, we're reaching a point where we will soon be able to leave. Your next letter will likely not reach me anymore, as they don't deliver mail to our research location. My apologies for making you wait for a response, which I will write down when I return, hopefully according to our schedule—if all goes as planned, it won't be too long.

(I'm also sorry that this letter is so short. I doubt you care to hear about the minutiae of packing up fragile scientific instruments, and I have aught else to write of these days.) 

Maybe I'll send you a chunk of auracite as a souvenir. You might find some use in it. Who knows?

Love (and a response as soon as I am able),

Moenbryda


End file.
